Deal or no deal? Drury land purchase still up in air

Dan Drury is in the dark regarding the progress of a proposal presented months ago by Midamerica Hotels to Cape Girardeau County.

"I haven't heard anything," said Drury, President of Midamerica Hotels, in a recent phone interview. "I just hope everything works out the best for everybody."

The offer was to purchase a 70-foot-wide strip of Cape Girardeau County Park North, adjacent to Interstate 55 on the north side of U.S. 61. The company already owns land in that area and Drury says that the development would enhance, not tarnish, the area between the Cape Girardeau and Jackson communities.

The proposal to purchase the 1.24 acres was made through the county commission, a group recently gathering attention for stark disagreements and heated arguments.

The commission pressed forward with a decision to sell the land in an April 3 closed meeting and the Board of Park Commissioners, an advisory board that wasn't included in the decision, raised questions.

Drury recommended that the county park board be a part of the proposal review and a formal discussion was what his company had intended all along.

"The proposal we put out was good for the parks and it was good for us," he said in an earlier interview. "Nothing was under the table."

In a May 20 meeting, Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones appeared before the Board of Park Commissioners in an attempt to provide details and shed some light on the decision to sell a part of the park. Some members were satisfied, some were still unsure. Member R.J. McKinney feels the land was appraised at a price too low.

Midamerica offered $300,000 for the land, with the money being set aside for the park. Drury plans to use the land for commercial development though at this time has not disclosed what he plans to build. The company offered to put up a landscape buffer on park grounds to separate it from the future development.

"We just feel like we put together a proposal and forwarded it," Drury said. "If it is not accepted, we are big boys. We will continue to go on. But we felt it was good for the county and good for Midamerica."

He continues to wait to hear any word on the development of his offer, though says he still has plenty of other things to keep him busy.

Southeast Missourian staff writer Rudi Keller contributed to this report.